Candace Thille

Candace Thille is an Associate Professor (Teaching) at the Stanford University Graduate School of Education. Her work bridges the science of human learning with educational technology design, focusing on data-driven course redesign and open web-based learning environments for college-level education. She leads initiatives like LearnSphere, a collaborative educational data infrastructure, and EdHub, integrating learning sciences with practical educational challenges.

• PhD in Higher Education (University of Pennsylvania, 2013)
• MS in Information Technology (Carnegie Mellon, 2005)
• BA in Sociology (University of California, Berkeley, 1980)

Her research interests span Learning Analytics, Educational Equity, Technology-Enhanced Learning, and Data-Driven Pedagogy. She applies Bayesian optimization and adaptive learning to improve educational outcomes across multiple institutions.

Recent publications analyze neural responses to speech accents, reinforcement learning in education, and ethical considerations in educational data systems. The 2021 article in Scientific Reports explores cognitive processing of language variation, while 2020 work with ACM examines adaptive scheduling algorithms.

• Scientific Awards
  • Fellow, International Society for Design and Development in Education (2010-Present)

As advisor, she mentors postdoctoral researchers like Yunsung Kim and graduate students including Jennifer Lin and Luna Laliberte. Her lab (Stanford Lytics Lab) and projects like OARS dashboard enable instructors to use fine-grained learning data for teaching improvement.